Floyd Mayweather Jr is the world's best fighter beyond question

The American is remarkable but needs to beat Sugar Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao to confirm his greatness

Floyd Mayweather steps back after knocking down Juan Manuel Márquez. Despite the victory, the American said it was not one of his best fights. Photograph: Laura Rauch/Associated Press
Laura Rauch/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Good as Floyd Mayweather Jr looked against Juan Manuel Márquez – and sensational would be a reasonable description – he is two fights away from silencing the last of his critics.

For the unequivocal adoration he craves he must now go out and beat Sugar Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao, probably in that order. Of the two Mosley is the tougher fight because, as Mayweather showed in Las Vegas on Saturday night, size is a killer around the lighter weights.

Pacquiao, whatever his heroics against a shot Ricky Hatton in May, is two years younger than Mayweather but a stone or so smaller; Mosley is closer in weight, at light-middle, but six years older.

Mayweather, according to Márquez, might have been 20lb heavier than the 36-year-old Mexican by fight time at the MGM Grand. He also had a four-year pull in age, not to mention skills which seem to have been enhanced rather than eroded since he knocked out Hatton in the same ring 21 months ago.

The man is remarkable, every bit as removed from the herd as was Sugar Ray Leonard, whom he resembles in boxing style and self-belief, although he lacks Leonard's class outside the ring, which is not the unreserved praise it might seem; Leonard could be charming or unbearable.

Like Roy Jones Jr and Oscar De La Hoya before him Mayweather has secured his legend fighting a variety of older and/or smaller opponents, partly because he is an astute businessman and abhors risk, despite his immense talent, and partly because there are not many fighters out there who are an exact match for him.

At the weigh-in he was seemingly happy to pay a $600,000 penalty out of his $5m purse for coming in 2lb over the agreed 144lb limit; that was desperately unfair on Márquez, who was coming up from lightweight. He was dwarfed in every way as Mayweather dominated him physically and tactically over 12 largely one-sided rounds.

Márquez could make an argument for sharing the points only in round seven, when he had minor success as Mayweather relaxed. Afterwards Mayweather indulged in the luxury of describing his showing as not one of his best. Nonsense.

On ability and that performance there is no question he is the best fighter in the world right now. Wins over Mosley and Pacquiao would seal the judgment. And if anyone out there wants to challenge that, be my guest.

Confession time

Occasionally journalistic objectivity is compromised in sport, when deep down you favour a certain result. There was something about Orlando Cruz's cockiness in the opening televised bout of the undercard that did not predispose me towards him when he went up against the quiet, unfancied Detroit featherweight Cornelius Rock.

This business is no cakewalk and fighters – however good, however hyped by their promoters – who think that they have only to turn up to win are tempting the boxing gods.

Rock, who has four defeats on his CV, knocked the unbeaten Cruz down in the first and over and out in the fifth. I did not cry into my cocoa.

On that score who could not admire the career of the Australian Michael Katsidis? He always puts it on the line. On the way up he came here in February 2007 and had an absolute war with Graham Earl, stopping him in the fifth. That was for the WBO's interim lightweight title.

On Saturday night, six fights on, the short-armed slugger was fighting for the same belt and, cut above the eye from round one, walked through the more stylish Vicente Escobedo to take a split decision, when it should have been unanimous. Mark the names of Mike Fitzgerald (116-112 for Escobedo) and Robert Hoyle (118-110 for Katsidis) as two muppets.

I bet Earl was cheering for Katsidis back in Luton.

Oscar De La Hoya put on a decent support card, as it happens, in this ratings face-off with UFC103 down in Dallas (results this week some time). It is wonderful what a little competition will do for a sport.

Rocky Juarez, trailing but coming back, nearly knocked out Chris John in the last half-minute of their tear-up for John's WBA featherweight title but the champ hung on. It was the 10th defence of the title he won five years ago.

John has been around forever and beat Márquez in March 2006.

Let's get ready to grumble

Has there ever been anyone in the sports entertainment industry who has made more money from five little words than Michael Buffer?

There he was at the HBO mic again, intoning as ever as if introducing the president of the United States. He is like an irritating uncle: embarrassing, harmless and always there.

The two most interesting things about The Buffed One are:

He is the grandson of Johnny Buff, who won the world bantamweight title in the 20s.

He proposed to his third wife on television.

Eye on the prize

I really like the Prizefighter series. It might not always be world-class boxing on show but bringing together ambitious and/or desperate fighters of varying ages, abilities and experience for a round-robin tournament that is settled in one evening is an inspired idea by Barry Hearn. It is like a good play, with each act building to a climax that nobody can safely predict at the start.

But it will come as no surprise to friends or doubters that Audley Harrison is already proclaiming he will win the next heavyweight edition, at the ExCel Centre in London's Docklands on 2 October, and go on to be world heavyweight champion.

Part one of this modest ambition is getting past Scott Belshaw – and, although he was blown away by Tyson Fury, I do not expect the Belfast banger to roll over this time. If Harrison does win, he is on track for a fight in the semi-finals against Michael Sprott, who knocked him out in 2007. So a win there is no given. If he makes the final, he is likely to meet another old conqueror, Danny Williams. Now that is a tough night's work.

None of which stops Harrison declaring: "I believe I will get that world title and the British public will understand my path, my battles, and I will get that credit." Maybe not but stranger things have happened.

However, Harrison's claim that he is "probably the greatest amateur boxer ever from Britain" is an insult to the triple-Olympian Dick McTaggart, MBE, the Scottish southpaw who won gold at lightweight at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. He won an extraordinary 610 of his 634 bouts and was voted into boxing's International Hall of Fame in 2000. McTaggart is regarded by good judges who followed his long and distinguished time in the ring (he never turned professional) as the best British amateur of his and probably any era.

Farewell

The family of Darren Sutherland bury him at St Finian's Cemetery in Navan, Co Meath, today after a Funeral Mass at 11am at St Mary's Church. If you pray, send one up for Darren.